Vincent Ferrari simply wanted to call in to cancel his AOL
account, but his request to cancel the account simply resulted in over 5
minutes of nonsense as the CSR tried everything within his power to keep
Vincent as a customer. Here part of the transcript courtesy of MSNBC:

Ferrari: I want to cancel my account.AOL: OK. I mean, is there a problem with the software itself?Ferrari: No. I don't use it. I don't need it. I don't want it.AOL: Last year, last month it was 545 hours of usage.Ferrari: I don't know how to make it any clearer. So I'm just gonna say it one last time. Cancel the account.AOL: Well, explain to me what is wrong.Ferrari: I'm not explaining anything to you. Cancel the account.

According to MSNBC,
Vincent has received a verbal apology from AOL and the CSR in question has been
fired. “At AOL, we have zero-tolerance for customer care incidents like this -
which is deeply regrettable and also absolutely inexcusable. The employee in
question violated our customer service guidelines and practices, and everything
that AOL believes to be important in customer care - chief among them being
respect for the member, and swiftly honoring their requests. This matter was
dealt with immediately and appropriately, and the employee cited here is no
longer with the Company,” said AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham.

One must ask how any Vincent was even able to tolerate AOL
service for more than five years?

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This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

If he indeed was fired, I hope to God that he sues AOL for this bit of public relations BS. Anyone with half a brain would realize that if a CSR isn't told to use up extra time time on the phone with a client in order to keep them as a customer, then they would promptly fill out the clients' request as fast as possible in order to move the call queue along. Does AOL think people are stupid...I guess they do.

Why would he be kidding? As far as I know AOL is based in the USA, I think they are out of VA and to my knowledge VA is an at-will state. Actually I think all 50 states are at will now.

But anyway, "at-will" means a your employer can fire you for any reason and for no reason at all. Just like you can quit your job for any reason or no reason at all.

The only exceptions to these terms this is A) An employer can not fire you out of any discrimination (sex, race, religion, etc. etc.), B) An employer can not fire you because you witness said employer breaking the law, the law is on your side in this case (just make sure you didn't break the law yourself..LOL), C) If you are a contracted employee and specific "protections" of your employment are spelled out in the contract, and the contract has been signed by proper corporate executive management OR if you are part of a union -- in union's employers have to watch just out firing you.

Aside from those three classes, and mind you it is often extremely difficult to prove discrimination (unless the employer is incredibly sloppy and stupid)....an employer can fire you for whatever they want.

AOL could of told this CSR -- "You are fired"...and that's it..they don't need a reason.

And guess what, unless the CSR falls under one of those conditions I named above -- AOL is completely within the law to have fired him, the CSR can't sue.

Saying he was fired for following a company script to the letter -- meets no legal standard for him to sue AOL.